Belarus is not like Ukraine – and why that matters

Andrei Sannikov was in Solothurn Film Festival for the premiere of the documentary that follows his efforts in exile against the "last European dictator", Alexander Lukaschenko. Keystone / Marcel Bieri

The film that opened the Solothurn Film Festival in January broke with tradition and had little to do with Switzerland. This Kind of Hope, a Swiss documentary directed by Pawel Siczek, focused on Belarus, a landlocked country wedged between the warring nations of Russia and Ukraine.

The documentary depicts the political struggle between Europe’s so-called “last dictator”, Belarus ruler Alexander Lukaschenko, and one of his main opponents, a former diplomat and presidential candidate in the 2010 elections, Andrei Sannikov. Disturbing images capture the regime’s repressive forces in action, with sources left unnamed out of concern for their safety.

Why is Lukashenko called Europe’s “last dictator”?

Lukaschenko has been in power since 1994. As such, he has been the first and only Belarusian head of state since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Presidential elections were held in 2001, 2006, 2010, 2015, and 2020. Lukaschenko claimed victory in every round, with the reported levels of fraud increasing over time.  After the last vote, the European Union imposed sanctions on the country and accused the Belarusian authorities of “violence, repression, and election fraud.”

Sannikov attended the opening with his wife, the journalist Iryna Khalip, and appealed for the public’s “most egoistical instincts” to support the Belarusian opposition. “We are fighting, along with Ukraine, for you, for the safety and security of all democracies in Western Europe”, he said.

The elephant in the room: Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko (left) pose for a photo during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, a couple of weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine (11 March 2022). Keystone / Mikhail Klimentyev / Kremlin Poo

Sannikov served as the country’s deputy foreign minister in the mid-nineties before challenging Lukaschenko in 2010 elections. He was beaten, arrested and sentenced to five years in prison after what Lukashenko called a “landslide victory” by his party. He was pardoned in 2012 and now lives in exile in Warsaw, the Polish capital, from where he spoke to SWI swissinfo.

Iryna Bogdanova, Sannikov’s sister, holds a poster with a picture of her brother and his wife Iryna Khalip, who were in jail, during a protest, across the street from the Belarusian embassy in London (Dec. 21, 2010). Keystone / Lefteris Pitarakis

SWI: When you talk about Belarus, we cannot avoid the shadow of Putin’s Russia. Even if the opposition in Belarus could eventually take control and return the country to democracy, would Russia ever let Belarus follow its own way?

Andrei Sannikov: It’s a wrong perspective. I never thought that the Baltic states would join NATO until they did, and they did whilst Putin was in power. Our tragedy is that we are very often looked upon through the eyes of Moscow. The West doesn’t support the Belarus opposition too strongly because it could alienate Putin and make the Kremlin angry. This in my view is the wrong approach.

Before the storm: Andrei Sannikov casts his ballot beside his wife Irina Khalip and son during presidential elections at a polling station in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, Sunday, Dec. 19, 2010. Keystone / Dmitry Brushko

SWI: What would be the right approach?

A.S.: I proceed from the fact that we deserve to be independent, free, and European. I just ask the people in Belarus to compare:  do you see any laws there in Belarus and Russia? Do you want to have the same criminal laws as in Russia, which are not laws but rules? Look at the West: you may not like it, but they do have the rule of law, they do protect individual rights – somewhat. You also have corrupt politicians, but at least not all of them are corrupt. You have elections which are free and fair, and that is the basis of the existence of the democratic society. When I was campaigning, it was very easy to explain this.

SWI: Is there fear that Belarus could become another Ukraine?

A.S.: No. We are not perceived in Russia as an alien country. It would be very hard for the Kremlin’s propaganda to paint Belarusians as enemies because they are really appreciated in Russia. Even when the protests against the rigged elections in 2020 started, even when the Kremlin was supporting Lukashenko openly, Russian people did not support him. Russian propaganda managed to paint Ukrainians as their enemies, calling them Nazis, extreme nationalists who want to kill everything Russian. Belarus is different.

SWI: How do you describe the forces that make up the Belarusian opposition?

A.S.: The true leaders are in prison today, as well as many of the people with whom I’ve worked for over 20 years. Sviatlana Tikhanovskaya [supposed winner of the 2020 election, now in exile in Lithuania] is doing some part of the job, but not very effectively. We need more than just international travel [of opposition leaders].

SWI: What about former communists?

A.S.: There were former communists in the opposition, but they compromised themselves when they supported the Russian war in Ukraine in 2014. Although we have good personal relations, I don’t want to have anything to do with them politically anymore. We are all united on the issue of independence and democracy, but not all the opposition share the same views about a European future. And there is another important factor today:  the volunteers fighting in Ukraine against Russia.

Production line of a train wagon at the Stadler plant near Minsk, Belarus. The Swiss company Stadler Rail Group invested US$ 40 million to build a plant for the production of electric trains and trams in Belarus to supply former Soviet countries, Europe and Latin America. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the company reluctantly ceased practically all of its activities in the country. Keystone / Tatyana Zenkovich

SWI: Who are they?

A.S.: Several hundred volunteers in the regiment named after Kastus Kalinousky, a Belarusian national hero. These say they are fighting in Ukraine for Belarusian freedom. So far, their political force is not that strong, but it’s still an encouraging sign, especially for the political prisoners. There is now an armed element in the opposition. Their engagement is much more valuable for Belarusians than any statement or declaration.

SWI: Have the Western sanctions against Belarus taken a toll on the country and the regime so far ?

A.S.: Unfortunately, the West stopped short of introducing or enforcing significant sanctions on Lukashenko and his entourage. Business with dictators is very lucrative.

SWI: Switzerland has followed the EU in its sanctionsExternal link against Russia and Belarus. Could Switzerland do more?

A.S.: Yes, more sanctions. Switzerland has managed to save its citizen from prison. Natallia Hersche, who has dual citizenship [Swiss and Belorusian], is an example. But Switzerland still recognizes Lukashenko as a legitimate head of State; they sent the ambassador to present his credentials after Lukaschenko elected himself. I am very happy Natallia was released, but it is not the way to buy out the prisoners.

Natallia Hersche, left, is welcomed by Deputy State Secretary Johannes Matyassy at Zurich Airport on February 18, 2022. The Swiss-Belarusian dual citizen had been released after 17 months in prison in Belarus. Hersche was arrested during a rally against the Lukashenko regime in September 2020. © Keystone / Michael Buholzer

SWI: Do you mean Switzerland’s paid too much of a political price to use its backchannels just for one prisoner?

A.S.: Too much of a price for the others that are still in prison. Switzerland could certainly do more. It hosts the International Red Cross, for instance, whose Belarusian branch External linkis completely loyal to Lukashenko. It does not insist to visit prisoners. I keep asking them to. I have a list of those who require medical assistance. I keep telling them: Even if they don’t let you in, keep pushing, then something might change. To no avail. The International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva doesn’t want to expose the local organizations of the Red Cross that are serving dictatorships instead of humanitarian purposes.

[SWI contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva to comment on Mr. Sannikov’s claims: “The ICRC works closely with the other parts of the Movement in order to ensure a concerted, efficient, and rapid humanitarian response to armed conflict or other situations of violence. However, the ICRC does not oversee the operations of a given National Society like the Belarus Red Cross Society, nor do National Societies belong to the ICRC.]

SWI: The Baltic states, Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine, share a long history of strong nationalist movements. What role do these movements play today?

A.S.: It is different in every country. I think you cannot blame Ukraine for getting more and more nationally oriented because of the war. The population has stopped watching  Russian movies and  reading Russian books as the information war that is being waged against them is in Russian.

Behind bars: Andrei Sannikov sits in a cage during a court session in Minsk, Belarus, April 4, 2011. He was condemned to a prison sentence of 5 years. Sannikov claimed the accusations were ‘absurd’ and that he was tortured by the Belarussian secret police. Keystone / Sergei Grits/ap

In Belarus the language is being suppressed by Lukashenko because he is the unique dictator who denies everything national. He proclaims himself to be a Soviet internationalist and is quite loyal to this principle. So, to use the Belarusian language today is a way to show sympathy for the resistance movement. When you use it publicly, you can be arrested.

The russification of Belarus was much stronger than the russification of Ukraine, but today the network of Belarusian language study groups is growing. There is definitely a rejuvenation of Belarusian literature, poetry, music. It is a natural process under oppression. When you are oppressed, you find the tools to fight the oppressor and those tools usually include the local language, culture, or history.

In Russia, Putin’s regime deprived their own people of the history of the Soviet Union, and falsified facts of the world history. I would even feel sorry for them if they were not so aggressive.